STNS: Chapter 477 (Patreon)

I don’t understand. What’s going on?

Wu Jian was confused and couldn’t figure out how or why he’d suddenly lost all his strength. He’d been injured during this fight, but not so injured that he couldn’t move. Luan Desheng had suffered more wounds than he had. He easily surmised that the reason for his sudden loss of strength had something to do with the technique Luan Desheng had spoken of, but he hadn’t seen the man use a technique, so it must have been… something he prepared in advanced.

Wu Jian glanced down at the sealing array that covered the ground, which he had initially assumed was a seal that strengthened Luan Desheng by sacrificing the lives of his disciples, but what if that wasn’t the case? What if this sealing array’s purpose was to weaken them?

“This seal…” he muttered.

“I see you figured it out,” Luan Desheng chuckled. “It’s called Chi Absorption Sealing Array. I stole this seal from the Zhou Clan many, many years ago. It’s quite the powerful seal, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. It absorbs the chi of everyone who steps foot on it and gives it to the caster--me.”

Luan Desheng had become a bit more talkative, perhaps because Wu Jian and Shuchang had lost most of their strength. Wu Jian probably had enough chi for one more attack. That would be it, however. He’d be spent after that. Shuchang didn’t even look like he had that much, though when Wu Jian glanced at the man, he saw that his friend was still awake.

“You’ve become awfully talkative,” Wu Jian said.

Chuckling, Luan Desheng casually strolled around them. “I guess so. I know it’s a bit uncouth, but I get rather excited when I see my enemies suffering beneath me. I just can’t help but want to torture them a little.”

Wu Jian heard the air whistling before he felt Luan Desheng’s kick. The cracking sound of his foot meeting Wu Jian’s face echoed around the room, and Wu Jian tumbled, striking the floor face first. He couldn’t even back up because Luan Desheng placed a boot on his head. All he could do was groan in pain as the man dug his heel into Wu Jian’s head.

“I’m sure an upstanding and earnest young man such as yourself could never understand how I feel. Few things feel greater to me than having the power over someone else’s life. I’d even go so far as to say that having the power of the life and death of another is the greatest feeling in the entire world.” Wu Jian couldn’t see it because of the man’s foot, but he could somehow imagine his sickening smile. “Of course, overpowering and dominating women is much more fun than dominating a man.”

This man is a piece of work…

After traveling as much as he had, Wu Jian knew there were some sick people in this world, and it was clear this man was one of them. Some people were just evil. He didn’t know if they were born evil or became evil as a result of past traumas, but there were people who did not fall into a shade of gray, who fit the black and white stereotype of good and evil. This man was definitely one of those people.

Wu Jian sensed movement. It was not Luan Desheng. Thanks to his spatial awareness, he knew that Youmei had recovered and was on the move.

I need to keep this man distracted…

“You must be feeling quite smug, but if I break this sealing array--”

“It won’t work,” Luan Desheng interrupted him before he could finish. Crack! Wu Jian was kicked again, so hard that he flipped onto his back. The air soon left his lungs as Luan Desheng slammed a foot into his solar plexus and kept it there, slowly grinding his heel into Wu Jian’s chest. Wu Jian was probably just lucky the man hadn’t stepped on his necklaces, which had shifted to the side. “So that’s what your face looks like? Seeing someone with such a disgustingly handsome face makes me really want to fuck it up.”

Wu Jian belatedly realized that his mask had flown off, but he couldn’t see it anywhere so it must have landed some distance away. Luan Desheng continued talking.

“Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Even if you broke the sealing array now, the damage has already been done. Your chi is gone. It’s mine now. Breaking the seals on my array won’t reverse what happened.”

He said it so matter of factly that all Wu Jian could do was groan. However, the reason for it was not just because the man was slowly crushing his ribs. Youmei was closing in on the man. She was using her natural stealth as a predatory beast who stalked prey through the jungle to get closer to the man.

“I think your overconfidence will be your downfall,” Wu Jian said through pained gasps.

“Maybe.” Luan Desheng agreed, his smile widening. “But it’s not today.”

And as if he knew what Youmei was doing, the man spun around and attacked Youmei with shadows just as she was attempting to close in. The young magical beast had impeccable instincts. She quickly wove through the shadows. She knew that she couldn’t wrest control over the shadows from him, so she relied on her strength as a beast to blitz past them and attack the man directly. He caught her punch with a hand, but she launched another punch. He caught that, too.

However, now his hands were tied.

Wu Jian and Shuchang surged up at the last second. Shuchang used the last of his chi to ignore his fist in flames. He compressed the flames until they covered his hand in a layer that looked like a sword. Wu Jian reached out a hand, space warping as he summoned Pale Moon into it.

[Sword of the Vermillion Bird]

Shuchang slammed his fire-coated fist into Luan Desheng’s left flank. The attack sank into the man’s side. Luan Desheng grunted in pain and tried to retreat into the shadows.

“Youmei won’t let you!”

Youmei might not be as powerful as Luan Desheng and therefore could not hijack his shadows from him, but he was able to interfere. It would only be for a moment, but that moment was enough.

[Cleaving the Heavens in a Single Strike]

Wu Jian’s swing came in a brilliant flash of white. There was a moment where time seemed to stand still. Then a small crack appeared in the atmosphere. It went through Luan Desheng’s neck, but also the wall behind him. The moment the crack appeared, time seemed to reassert itself, and blood gushed from the man’s neck as his head fell cleanly off. It wasn’t just his head either. The wall behind him was sliced through and tumbled down to reveal the bedrock on the other side.

Shuchang stepped away and Youmei jumped back as the man’s body fell to the floor. Wu Jian grimaced when he saw the bloody puddle forming underneath him.

“That was quite the battle, huh?” asked Shuchang, holding out his hand.

Wu Jian took it and sighed. “It was. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.” Shuchang paused. “I forgot that’s what you look like. Man, you are pasty. You ever thought about getting some sun?”

“Ha ha. You know I wear my mask for a reason.”

It took Wu Jian a moment to find his mask, which was several meters away, but he summoned it back to his face when he did.

“You did a good job, Youmei. Thank you.”

“Heheh.”

Youmei smiled joyfully as he patted her head.

Shuchang pouted. “What about me? I did a good job, too.”

“What? You want me to pat your head?”

“Feel free.”

“No thanks. Your head’s not very pattable.”

“Well, damn.”

Wu Jian rolled his eyes. “Anyway, let’s go find Hou Jingshu and the others.”

They traveled up the stairs, back the way they had come. Youmei had used up the last of her strength blocking Luan Desheng's shadow manipulation skill. Wu Jian was carrying the young magical beast on his back. He wished she wouldn't sniff him. She had buried her face into his neck and was taking deep breaths.

“Youmei…”

“Master's scent is relaxing…”

“...”

“You really are too too kind for your own good,” Shuchang said with a chuckle.

“Shut up,” Wu Jian mumbled under his breath. His ears were burning.

“But really… that fight was intense,” Shuchang quickly changed gears. “Except that ending. That was kind of anti-climactic, you know?”

“Luan Desheng grew arrogant at the end there.” Wu Jian paused, recalling the battle, then grimaced. “He got overconfident and let his sadistic tendancies get the better of him. He had us dead to rights. We would have died right then and there if he hadn't grown so complacent toward the end.”

“True enough. That sealing array of his was no joke.”

Wu Jian didn't quite know how the sealing array worked, but he understood that it stole their chi and gave it to the caster, which had been Luan Desheng in this case. It sounded like an invasive technique. However, the sealing array had an obvious flaw since they'd all had enough strength left for one last attack. If he had to guess, Wu Jian would have said the sealing array was designed that way because Luan Desheng liked to see his enemies suffer. In the end, his arrogance and sadism had been his downfall.

They traveled back out of the secret passage and made their way to the grand hall. There were no more sounds of battle and the fires that were waging had been put out. Morning was coming. The sky was painted with color. How long had they been battling that man for? Wu Jian did not know, but it had still been dark when they entered that passage.

They soon made it to the grand hall, where it looked like the battle was over. Several corpses, all wearing the same robes, had been tossed into a corner of the room. Wu Jian didn't know them, but they must have been the Undying Sun Sect Elders. Mei Xilan was sitting on a throne at the end of the hall. Hou Jingshu stood beside her. She looked somewhat dazed. She wasn't alone either, as both Zhou Lihua and Zhou Wen were with her.

“Jian Wu!”

Hou Jingshu was the first to spot him. She waved him over and he walked toward the throne alongside Shuchang.

“It looks like your battle was successful,” he said.

“It was… though I confessed that we did not win because of me,” Mei Xilan said. She glanced at Hou Jingshu, who merely smiled uncertainly. It sounded like something had happened, but he didn't get to find out what as Mei Xilan turned back to him. “And what of you? If you are here, does that mean Luan Desheng is taken care of?”

Wu Jian nodded. “We killed him.”

“Is that so?” Mei Xilan sighed in relief. A slight smile played across her face, making her beautiful icy features look all the more enchanting. “That is good. With this, we have reclaimed the Sui Kingdom.”

Wu Jian soon learned that the battle was indeed over. Not only had Hou Jingshu somehow managed to kill all the elders and Qiang Bao, despite being trapped within an illusion, but the people who'd been fighting near the gate were finished. Once Hou Jingshu had come out and announced the elders were dead, all the Undying Sun Sect disciples lost heart and surrendered. He didn't know what would happen to them. However, it wasn't anything for him to be concerned about. His role in all this was almost at an end.

“Now comes the rebuilding,” Zang Ming.

Mei Xilan nodded. “Fortunately, there was not much damage done to the infrastructure. Our nation's economy is no longer what it used to be, but we can deal with that slowly.”

As they began talking, Wu Jian zoned out since he would not be part of the rebuilding effort. He had no desire to remain in the Sui Kingdom for any longer than necessary.

He glanced at Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua. They both seemed to sense his gaze. Hou Jingshu's smile was prominent, though Zhou Lihua's was hard to see because she wore a veil. The way her eyes crinkled made it obvious to those who knew her. He smiled back even though he knew they couldn't see it.

Their time here was almost at an end. He couldn't wait to return to the Heavenly Sword Sect and see Wu Meiying again.